


This is Not My Job

by Emariia



Category: Original Work
Genre: Character Death, F/M, Fluff, Fluffy Ending, M/M, Personification of Death, Pregnancy, emariiminific
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2019-01-20 09:11:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12429630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emariia/pseuds/Emariia
Summary: "This is not my job! This is the exact Opposite of my job!" Screamed The Grim Reaper as the human went into labor.Let me explain.





	This is Not My Job

**Author's Note:**

> Just a lil friendly challenge by my beta. Hope you like!

 

"This is not my job! This is the exact Opposite of my job!" Screamed The Grim Reaper as the human went into labor. 

 

Let me explain. 

 

Death, like all of the other immortals, child deities, and urban legends, had connections with some few chosen people on earth that believed in his existence and helped him with his duties as Soul-Collector. Sadly, he only had the European countries left in his domain since Buddhism, and the pesky Christians were such a  _ pain _ when he had to explain that Heaven and Hell were just two different oversized playpens that he stuck the souls he didn’t want to deal with into, and they got  _ especially _ rowdy when he told them that the apocalypse and their entire religion was made up by a bored immortal who was grounded for a lifetime because of a bet he’d lost to Luck. 

 

Seriously, when would Naivety  _ learn? _

 

So when Death was called down to California after the recent earthquake there, he expected to be greeted with a roguish smile and a finger pointing him towards a pile of dead bodies. Or maybe a coffee shop.

 

(His Californian contact was  _ hot, _ okay? And millions of years of existence tends to break down any hangups over gender or sexuality.)

 

What he  _ absolutely didn’t expect _ was his hot Californian contact- Max, he remembered -fidgeting next to an extremely pregnant woman that had several distinct similarities to him. 

 

Now while he didn’t pay all that much attention to his contacts, he was  _ positive _ that this one had always been a confident, possessive little shit, which was one of the things that had turned him on to him in the first place. 

 

That and his job as a first responder. 

 

He could  _ appreciate  _ the fact that they were making his job easier. 

 

“Max?” He asked a little unsure. “What is this?” 

 

“Grimm,” Max sounded relieved, but he still looked nervous. “This is my sister. Her husband’s out of town and she’s been staying with me, but I absolutely _can’t_ leave her here alone for however long I have to tug bodies from under rubble. Terry usually comes over when I have to go out, but she’s on the other side of town, the roads are blocked off, and there was really no one else I could call…” He was rubbing the back of his silky black haired head and his gorgeous blue eyes were staring at the ground somewhere to Death’s right. Death’s heart clenched when he bit his lip. He was usually apathetic, but he liked this human and wait _what_ did he just say? 

 

“Max,” Death bit out shortly. “You called me, the god of death, here to watch over your pregnant sister as you save people from suffocating under rubble?” 

 

“Well, yeah.” Max at least had the decency to sound sheepish. “And you know I would never really ask you if there wasn’t another option. I  _ know _ that you don’t really enjoy talking to people, or seeing them, or anything. Plus,” And here his blue eyes raised to stare into Death’s own red ones. “I trust you.” 

 

Death’s heart squeezed uncomfortably in his chest and he sighed heavily. “Oh, fine. Go and make my job easier.” And Death would never admit to himself that seeing Max’s eyes light up like that was totally worth any human company he would have to suffer for the next few hours. Max rushed forward and wrapped his tanned arms around Death’s shocked form and then pulled away with a nervous smile before Death could even think about returning it. 

 

“Thank you, Grimm! I won’t take any longer than I have too, you have my word!” 

 

And then he was out the door and Death was left staring at the pregnant woman who was staring back at him with something akin to suspicion. 

 

“Well,” Death drawled. “I guess it’s just us then.” 

 

The first thing she did was poke and prod at him until he answered her questions. Once she had his attention, she asked him questions about his job and what he did on a daily basis. Once he mentioned his contacts, she wouldn’t let him leave the topic. 

 

“So my brother is one of these contacts of yours, yes?” She said. She looked almost angry, and Death had no idea why. He’d already explained that all of the duties and conditions of becoming a contact were explained ahead of time. 

 

“Yes, he is. He’s one of the ones that I see the most often.”

 

“So do you make all of your contacts fall in love with you, or is it just my brother that you’re abusing?” 

 

He blinked.

 

what

 

_ What?! _

 

“What?” He asked, eloquently. 

 

“My brother?” She asked, scathingly, though slightly confused. “The black haired menace that has fallen in love with you?” At Death’s wide-eyed stare, she looked horrified. “You’re in love with him, too? And you haven’t gotten in a relationship yet? Don’t tell me that you  _ didn’t notice!?” _

 

Death decided that he didn’t like this human, if just for the fact that they were staring at him like he was stupid. 

 

“I am surrounded by idiots.” She laughed bitterly. “Trust Max to fall in love with and have the feeling reciprocated by the ancient deity who collects souls like rocks.”

 

“I collect rocks, too,” Death said, mildly offended, “I started after Naivety decided to play Jesus. The souls are too noisy and keep going on and on about the coming of the lord. The interesting ones are the ones who scream for mercy. Needless to say, those are the ones I end up throwing to Lucifer. He gets ever so bored.”

 

Max’s sister stared at him for a moment, a small grin stretching its way across her face. She held out her hand to him and he took it, cautiously. “Maya,” she said. “I think we’ll get along quite nicely after you finally ask my brother out on a date.” 

 

“Death,” Death said. “I also go by Grimm. But don’t call me reaper on any account or I’ll let Lucy know you can be especially whiny. He likes the whiners.” 

 

Maya snorted. “I can’t tell whether or not Max was drawn in by your sense of humor or the fact that you tolerated him enough to become his friend. He doesn’t have many.” 

 

“No?” Death frowned. “I would assume with his looks and his sense of morbid humor he’d have women and men all over him.” 

 

Maya raised an amused eyebrow. “Would you, then? He’s a rather shy person unless you catch him in a mood or are particularly interesting to him.” 

 

“He must have lots of moods, then.” Death said distractedly. There was a strange tingling in the back of his throat, which only came when he was near a soon to be new life. Babies in the womb didn’t have souls, they gained them just as the water broke in the woman, from what he understood. To have that feeling now, however…

 

He stared at Maya worriedly. 

 

He was not prepared to deal with that possibility. 

 

“Oh? You must not pay very much attention. My brother has taken an  _ interest _ in you, Death.” 

 

“Maya,” He said cautiously, “If I were to tell you that your water was about to break, what would be the procedure to help you through a safe, me-less birth?” He was becoming exceedingly more nervous as time inched slowly by. 

 

She stared hard at him. “Why?” 

 

He stared, worried, right back. “Call it curiosity or an investment of prior knowledge, whatever it takes for you to tell me.” 

 

“Hospitals are out because of the quake, so I’d have you lay me down on the bed with pillows propped behind me, ask you to get towels to put under my vagina, and a large bowl of semi-hot water. Then I’d tell you to be careful, because I like to punch things and scream profanities while I'm in pain.” She let out a short scream as he frantically and carelessly levitated her quickly to the bed and stripping her of her pants. He set a towel beneath her and summoned a stack of downy soft, black towels and a large metal tub of slightly steaming water. 

 

She glared at him. 

 

“This has nothing to do with a hypothetical situation, does it?” She asked. 

 

“I get a strange, tingly itchy feeling in the back of my throat when I am around a soulless body that’s about to gain a soul. And, um, considering the strength of the sensation, the subject would have to be pretty damn close.” 

 

“Fuck,” Maya growled, throwing her head back with a grimace, “Fuck fuck  _ fuck! _ ” Her legs were thrown apart and pressed into the mattress, her hips straining upwards to try and escape from the pain. 

 

Which brings us to now as the head of the baby crowned and the panic really set into the deity. He could  _ see _ the shaky bonds keeping the soul anchored in the little body, and he was so,  _ so _ afraid to touch something so innocent and pure and  _ breakable _ . He had the sudden knowledge that if he touched either of them in this moment that one or both of them would die. So he pressed himself against the opposite wall and watched with wide eyes. On her next short scream, the door banged open and Max came through the front door. He rushed to the living room and saw death pressed against the wall, saw his sister and the baby and he  _ moved.  _

 

Death saw the little soul stabilizing more and more and watched with wonder as max took charge of the situation and pulled the baby gently out. He held it gingerly. 

 

“Grimm, there’s a blue plastic box under the sink. Do you See it?” 

 

“Y-yes.” 

 

“I need that.” 

 

The box popped into existence next to Max and he opened it with a smile thrown towards Death. The rest was a blur. Max wrapped the baby in a clean towel and handed it off to Maya. She took him gratefully and held him close to her chest. 

 

Max stood and approached Death carefully. 

 

“Grimm?” He asked softly, his hands hovering, as if he wasn’t sure if it was okay to touch. 

 

“I’ve never seen a birth before,” Death said by way of explanation, “No one’s ever trusted me enough to be around them during the birth of a child, and the soul only attaches to the body right before birth, so it’s not as if I ever have to collect stillborns.” Death blinked away his faraway daze and looked at Max with wide eyes. “The soul anchors were thin and so very delicate,” he said softly. “I was scared that if I had touched them, they would snap.” 

 

“Hmm,” Max said softly, brushing a hand gently against Death’s cheek. “Let me get them cleaned up and then I’ll make you some hot chocolate, yeah?” 

 

Death nodded and then the hand was gone and Max was halfway across the room. Death heard the taps in the bathroom and he was back, unwrapping the baby and wiping it down gently. It whined and he wrapped it back up in a clean towel before gently wiping Maya’s hands and handing it to her. 

 

“You have a healthy baby girl, sis,” He said, kissing her on the cheek. She smiled and settled the baby close to her chest. 

 

Max cleaned up his sister and draped a blanket over her lower half. He left with all of the dirty towels. 

 

“She’s beautiful,” Death said softly. And she was. Her body was small and wrinkly, but her soul shone brightly, the anchors twice as strong as five minutes ago. They were much thicker than when Death had first seen her. 

 

Max came back with a pair of loose, light pajama bottoms for his sister and two fluffy blankets. He folded the pants up next to her head and draped one blanket over her. He took the other one with him and held out his hand to Death. Death took it and let his human lead him into the kitchen. Max sat Death down on one of the tall chairs and wrapped the blanket around his shoulders. Death buried his face into the softness of it and set his head down on the counter. He felt a hand stroke over his back and shivered gently. Then the hand was gone and Max was pulling open cabinets to make Death hot chocolate. Death tilted his head so he could watch Max. 

 

He was graceful in the kitchen -he was graceful everywhere- but there was a sort of familiarity here that was striking to Death. He knew his way around his kitchen with an easy fondness and knew exactly what to do and when. A funnel came out and a tall mason jar a moment later. The chocolatey milk in the pan was poured into the jar, and then some went into a mug that was placed in front of Death with a smile. Death sat up and took the cup in his hands. He melted as warmth began to seep into his bones and his head thunked down onto the table again. He heard a soft snort and rolled his head to the side to see Max there next to him, smiling softly. 

 

“For the immortal anthropomorphism of the end of all things, you’re pretty adorable,” Max said, eyes twinkling. 

 

“I- um,” Death stuttered, “I mean, you’re not so bad yourself,” He mumbled, tracing the rim of the cup with a finger. A cough. Death looked up at Max through his lashes to see him with red cheeks and a hand fisted over his mouth. Death flushed and hurriedly looked down. “I-i mean, if you don’t mind me saying, I never thought that I would ever have a friend like you. O-or any friends at all. Because, y'know, people always run in terror because of the idea of me before getting to know me.” Death hunched over a little. “And I don’t blame them! Because if I were mortal and knew I would expire eventually by some deity, I would run from them, I think.” He frowned, his fingers clenching over the cup. “This is hard. What I mean to say is that you’re important to me, and I appreciate you.” 

 

A hand brushed over Death’s shoulder and he looked up to see Max leaning against the counter smiling softly, his chin resting in one hand. The other hand settled onto Death’s shoulder and he tried his hardest to repress a shudder when the thumb there swiped over bare skin. 

 

“I appreciate you, too,” Max said, “Though-” His cheeks flushed again, “-I have to admit to entertaining thoughts of more than friendship between us.” 

 

Death looked up at Max and smiled nervously. “I definitely don’t mind. I the opposite of mind, actually.” 

 

Max’s eyes widened. “Really?” He looked bright, hopeful. No one had looked at Death that way before. 

 

Death nodded and Max smiled softly at him again, swiping his finger over bare skin. Death could not repress his shudder this time and leant into the touch slightly. 

 

“ _ OH MY GOD JUST  _ KISS _ ALREADY” _ Maya screamed from the living room. 

 

Death flushed cherry red and leant back to pull away, but Max followed him, sliding off of his own tall chair to crowd up against Death’s. Death didn’t know how or when Max got between his legs or wrapped his arms around Death’s waist, but he would be the last person to complain. 

 

“What do you think about her idea, Grimm?” Max asked, his blue eyes glinting, endless pools of Blue that Death could just sink into. 

 

“It has merit,” He replied, a little breathless. 

 

Max grinned, and he was closer and then-

 

Their lips touched and it was as if Death had learned to See again. Colors exploded under his eyelids and danced around his head. He felt a hand card through his hair and reached his own up to loop around Max’s neck. When Max finally needed to break for air and pulled away, Death stared at him with flushed cheeks and glazed eyes. He fully appreciated the heady gaze he got in return. 

 

“Wow,” Death said softly, blinking. 

 

Max huffed a small laugh and pulled Death forward so that his head rested on Max’s shoulder. Death pulled Max closer and bent his arms upwards so that his hands could hook onto Max’s shoulders. Max buried his head into Death’s hair and Death smiled. It was wonderful to have someone so close of their own accord and enjoying it. 

 

Maybe Life wasn’t so bad, after all. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I got a Tumblr! Follow me @emariialex


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